


Do you want to get out of here?

by lilllac



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Annabeth is very smart, Awkward Flirting, F/F, Jason and Annabeth are the ultimate duo, Romance, but not when it comes to Piper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22869925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilllac/pseuds/lilllac
Summary: Throughout the day, Annabeth keeps bumping into this mysterious girl with multicolored eyes and a smile that screams "trouble!". So, of course, the only thing she wants to do is get out of that party with her.This is exactly what happens.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Piper McLean, Jason Grace/Percy Jackson, Magnus Chase/Alex Fierro, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50





	1. ONE

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language so all mistakes are my own, but I hope this is enjoyable.

"I don't get it. If your mom is CEO of a book company, why do you need to go to this thing?".

Annabeth held back a sigh for what felt like the tenth time that day while going back in the sketch she had just finished. She looked over her shoulder at the bed itself, where the two boys were. Magnus, leaning on the headboard, with a magazine he had taken from her shelf, and Jason, lying on his back, balancing his head dangerously out of the bed.

"Stop it," she mumbled, frowning, "you know it weirds me out." And added: "I already said that you will end up breaking your glasses like that".

Jason laughed, the same simple, shy laugh, and rolled his perfect, irritating blue eyes, but straightened up - and pushed his glasses back up to the top of his nose.

"First of all, my mother is not the CEO of the book company, she is the owner. There's a difference. And second, it is common for companies in completely different industries to be partners. We are talking about business, not creative fields".

"And third" Magnus completed without looking up "aunt Athena _is_ the CEO of the archtecture firm that designed most of Venus' buildings". 

"Yeah" Annabeth leaned back in her chair "there's that".

There were few people that Annabeth could really talk to about her problems, and Magnus was one of them. Not just because they were cousins, but because their lives were so frighteningly similar that it looked like the work of some higher entity with a lot of free time.

"OK, so to recap," Jason said. "There will be this ... the gala event, with a meeting and a luxury dinner, and you need to go. And your mother only told you yesterday?"

"She was busy" Annabeth decided to leave out the fact that Athena had apparently been too busy during the last three weeks to contact her "she must have forgotten".

"It's an event with the Venus Corporation' the other boy raised an eyebrow in disbelief "which is, like, the biggest fashion, cosmetics and modeling agency on this side of the globe. And she 'forgot"' Sure".

Annabeth did not try to convince him, because Jason was not stupid: it was more than clear that Athena had not told her beforehand because she simply did not care whether Annabeth would be available or not. _Annabeth Chase's personal life_ did not exist in the vocabulary of the greatest architect and engineer in the United States.

"My dress will arrive at seven. I need to be in the salon at seven-thirty to not miss the session she scheduled for me, which, as you know, is humanly impossible considering the traffic" she explained "besides, I still need to deliver this sketch today, after lunch, and I can’t miss any Art History classes anymore. I...".

"You need our help, yes," Magnus added before she could. He closed the magazine and placed it on his lap. "Before you go crazy".

Annabeth tapped the pencil on the table, as she did when she was anxious. It wasn't about dinner (she was already more than accustomed to these formalities), but even to her, the day seemed too stressful. It looked like someone had beaten their routine in a blender and squeezed afterward.

"I can't ask that of you".

"Annabeth," Jason seemed to be holding back a kaugh, "it's five-thirty in the morning, and you woke us up because you slammed your knee on your desk and broke your coffee cup. I think we are past this stage of being ashamed to ask for favors, right?".

She shrugged her shoulders involuntarily. Jason and Magnus were too kind to say anything out loud, but she knew she must be looking awful after a sleepless night of stress and caffeine. She could only hope that the makeup artist would be able to work miracles.

"Let's do this: you go to college, do what you have to do, and then stop by the firm to deliver the sketches. Depending on how long it takes, I can pick you up. Come home, take a shower ...".

"I'll take you to the salon ..." Jason interjected.

"... In time to get the session scheduled. I stay here, wait for the dress, sign the delivery, and take it there".

Annabeth pondered. She didn't like having Jason and Magnus do things for her, but she would like even less to let her mother down - and that wasn't just the childish and emotional side of her talking. Her career, almost literally, depended on pleasing Athena Chase, or rather, her employees.

With the eleventh sigh, she lowered her head and agreed.

The boys' plan seemed good - which, of course, means it didn't go quite right. 

But first, she took the subway and arrived at college, feeling all the already known effects of lack of sleep on her body. Jason had offered to give her a ride, but Annabeth was forced to recline: he still needed to finish his own internship spreadsheets.

Checking the time on her watch, she realized that she still had a few minutes before class, and passed by the cafeteria. As expected, the queue was huge: many other students who were unable to drink coffee before leaving home depending on the college food.

She did not like to cheat, but her patience, as well as her time, was not high in stock. She took the phone out of her back pocket and typed:

**Annabeth.**

**[6:50 a.m]**

_Are you working today?_

Unfortunately, the answer did not come in the next minute - nor the two minutes after it. She snorted, exasperated, and then shook her head, scolding herself. She couldn't be angry because her friend didn't have time to help her skip the line, that's not how things worked. She started to shuffle her feet, heading towards the crowd, when a tall, muscular, familiar figure came out through the side door of the counter.

"Frank?".

The boy smiled, his eyes taking on the shape of half-moons, and Annabeth was again reminded of how much she loved that boy. He was dressed in a red sweatshirt and jeans, but on top, he had the usual purple college cafeteria apron, and in his hands ...

"This one's for you," he said, holding out the plastic cup of pure coffee, and Annabeth almost hugged him right there. "Reyna saw the notification on the cell phone screen but she's too busy trying to teach the new intern. She asked me to bring it to you".

Suddenly, Annabeth forgave Reyna for any disagreements they might have had - even that time she hit her in the face with her sweaty boxing gloves (yuck). As she sipped the liquid and felt it heating all the sleeping cells in her brain, she realized that Frank was holding the another cup with an expression of uncertainty on his face

"What is it?".

"Nico asked me to deliver this one to his friend too" he explained "but I forgot to ask how she is".

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at the cup. At least, Nico had deigned himself to write “Piper” in that unbearably cursive handwriting of his, but the name alone was not associated with an face in Annabeth's mind either.

Frank looked around, starting to get nervous - no doubt, he still had a lot of work inside - and it was at that very moment that a boy approached them. Annabeth watched him cautiously. She was sure she had seen him before, but she couldn't tell from where. He was tall, with a relaxed expression, and was dressed in horrible brown shorts (even for Annabeth and her complete lack of fashion sense), and a blue sweatshirt. The black hair seemed to have been brushed aside without too much care.

"Hey" he greeted, with a smile "Frank, right?".

"... Yes?"

"And I don't know _you_ ," he said, looking at her.

"Annabeth".

'Annabeth, right. My name is Percy. Nico texted Piper that a boy looking like you' he looked at Frank again "was going to do me a favor and bring her coffee. But, knowing Nico as I do, I'm sure he wouldn't have, well ..."

"Said nothing more?" Frank completed.

"That. I'm sorry" at least the boy seemed really sincere "the coffee is for my friend over there".

He pointed over his shoulder to a table a few steps away, where a blond boy was talking energetically to a girl Annabeth did not recognize. The boy reminded her a little of Magnus, with messy blond hair, but the girl's face was like a violent breath of air.

Annabeth had learned, in the most difficult way, that beauty was subjective, and that all people are to be considered beautiful, in their own way.

Which, supposedly, should have prepared her for that vision.

And yet, it did not.

She looked at the girl, sitting with one elbow on the table, and laughing at something the boy had said. Her perfect skin, with no hint of ever knowing what a pimple was, and the smile of perfectly white teeth.

The only thing Annabeth could think of was: _wow_.

"How much is it?" Percy asked, bringing her back to reality.

"Four dollars," Frank replied.

"Piper!" Percy called, getting the girl's attention "Do you have any change with you?".

"He can keep it!" she replied.

And Annabeth used that opportunity to gaze into her intensely green eyes. Looking closely, they looked like Percy's, but they also darker - perhaps because, at the edges, mixed with a shade of navy blue.

Okay, maybe she was staring. But Annabeth thought it was perfectly acceptable - it wasn't every day that you met someone with multicolored eyes!

She was so distracted that she hardly noticed Percy handing Frank a ten dollar bill. When the boy thanked him and went back to the counter, thanking him once again for the tip, however, Percy remained standing in front of her.

"...Can I help you?" she questioned.

"Ah" he blinked "no, no. I was just going to ask if you have somewhere to go. You can sit with us if you want".

Annabeth considered the offer, but at the same time, Percy's words were absorbed into her mind. _Place. Go._ She looked at her watch, already waiting for the impending defeat:

7:05 a.m

"Damn it! Sorry, Percy, I really have to go. See you...".

She was unable to finish the sentence because she had already went too far while running to try not to be late even more because the stupid teacher made the call at the beginning of the class.

She could barely hear Percy completing a "see you later".

Damn Piper of the mysterious coffee - and damn distracting multicolored eyes. Annabeth was not to blame.

The class had been awful, but that was no surprise. After nearly four hours of chatter, Annabeth left the room feeling as if someone had drained all of her body's energy. As the students scattered down the hall, she leaned against the wall outside and allowed herself to breathe for a moment, resolving to check her cell phone.

**Jason**

_Two unread messages._

**Magnus**

_Five unread messages._

And an email. Generally, Annabeth would give priority to the latter, but she needed to talk to someone to cool her head a little.

Not surprisingly, it was the wrong decision.

**Jason**

**[9:10 a.m]**

_Hey, I just got here. Text me when you leave class._

**[11.20 a.m]**

_My class is over, if you're still here send me a message, I can take you to the firm._

**Magnus**

**[8:25 a.m]**

_Hey Annie_

**[8:25 a.m]**

_Dude_

**[8:26 a.m]**

_Check your email_

**[8:26 a.m]**

_It's, like, important_

**[10:40 am.]**

_Did you??_

Annabeth growled - Magnus was so annoying about sending a million messages to say something that could be summed up in just one - and sent a quick one to Jason:

**Annabeth**

**[11:37]**

_If you're still around, I'm going to the cafeteria. I could use that lift..._

And she checked the god-forsaken email.

Ah.

Ah, _heavens_.

_From: Athena.enterprises._

_To: annabeth.chase._

Dear Annabeth Chase. We would like to formally invite you to the dinner celebrating the five years of partnership between our company and Corporations Venus and Dare Enterprises. The date and time are fixed at the end of this document.

Requirements:

Dress: fine sport.

2 companions.

Printed invitation and photo ID.

We look forward to it!

She looked at the photo attached in the email: it was her printed invitation. That Athena had conveniently forgotten to mention was necessary. And more than that ...

Two companions.

For a dinner that would take place that day. In some hours.

Sometimes, Annabeth just wanted to be a baby bird: and be able to fly away from her problems.

"It's fine for for me" Jason replied, putting a potato chip in his mouth "but are you sure you want to take Magnus?".

The question was not asked in a mocking tone, despite the little smile. It was a valid one. Annabeth loved Magnus, but she would be lying if she said he didn't at least remind her a little too much of Thalia, Jason's best friend, and older sister, who had moved out of state to play for the women's baseball team last year.

Were they both ... well, _easily teased_? To put it mildly. They had no patience for formal things and small talk, and she didn't even like to remember the last time she tried to take Thalia as an companion at one of those events. Athena had almost disinherited her.

"Do I have another option?" Annabeth drowned her own potato chips in the cheddar cream. 'Who else would accept a last-minute thing like this?".

Jason seemed to think for a moment. But in the end, all he said was:

"Fair".

They finished lunch, and Jason saved half an hour of her schedule that would otherwise be lost in traffic by giving her a ride to the branch of the company she worked for.

"I'll see you later, I need to help Magnus find a blazer," he said, leaving her on the sidewalk, and Annabeth thanked him again.

She grabbed the folder close to her chest and took a deep breath. Since she was little, people told her that she had the look of a businesswoman: firm, inquisitive, strong.

What she didn't know was that, for the most part, children who grew up being praised for their intelligence were put under the greatest pressure. The expectation of growing up to become an architect as good as Athena weighed a little too much sometimes.

And she absolutely couldn't let any of her mother's employees see her fail, not even for a moment.

She stepped into the building with confident steps, becoming more intimidating in her worn jeans and sneakers than the rest of the staff in pinstripe suits and dark blazers. She stopped in front of the secretary and asked for the meeting with the overall editor.

"He's finishing up a another one," the woman said, in her usual monotuous tone. "You can wait there".

Annabeth almost couldn't believe it. As if her day wasn't already tight enough, now she needed to wait for the man who was supposed to be available, to have time for her. With a final scowl, she went to the sofa in the waiting room and ...

"Hey" - the girl smiled "I know you".

A familiar feeling - and not a welcome one, by the way - went up Annabeth's neck, warming her. Piper was sitting cross-legged on the couch, her cell phone unlocked in one hand.

"You work here?" Annabeth asked.

Piper took a few seconds to answer:

"More or less. I work for one of the associated. But I am trying an internship in marketing today. You?".

"I work for ..." she almost said _my mother_ , but she bit her tongue in time.

First, because Athena had already been very clear: Annabeth's job had been given based solely on her professional competence. She didn't want any rumors circulating about favoritism towards her family.

And second ... because maybe saying that you worked for your mother wouldn't impress a girl.

Not that Annabeth wanted to impress her.

"I'm a intern" she swallowed "I help with some new projects".

Annabeth felt like punching herself. She did much more than _help with some projects_. Heavens! At this point, the only thing that made her an "intern" was the term in her work ID, since she already worked well over half of the employees there. For some reason, she felt the need to make this clear:

"But they are big projects. Important ones".

Piper nodded slowly.

"It sounds cool," she said, with a smile that seemed genuine, "and do you like it?"

Realizing that standing there with a huge briefcase didn't seem very casual, Annabeth cautiously slid over to the couch, and at no time did Piper's eyes stop following her. Once again, it looked like the irises had changed color, being a deep brown now.

"Quite a lot" she decided to be sincere "my father wanted me to teach, like him, but I always wanted to be an architect".

"Does your father teach? This is amazing. I did think about being a teacher. Where does he teach?".

Annabeth bit the inside of her mouth. She didn't want to sound like the spoiled and wealthy girl who had both extremely successful parents.

Although it was almost exactly what it was.

"Harvard".

Piper's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. She finally blocked the cell phone screen.

"Damn," she said, with a contained laugh "wow".

 _Yeah_ , Annabeth thought, trying to stop looking at her face, _wow_.

Unfortunately, the face was not the only beautiful thing about Piper. She had changed clothes (probably because whatever outfit a college student wore to go to class, it would never be recomended to a job interview). The black pants made her legs look longer than they really were, and the white blouse accentuated her slim waist. The dark blazer was carefully folded over her lap.

"What's your course?" Annabeth tried to change the subject.

Piper seemed to notice but said nothing.

"Mostly, advertising".

"Mostly?".

"Much of my classes are in history," he explained. "I want to gain experience with marketing to continue an old project of my grandfather".

Annabeth's eyes lit up, and she bowed slightly, almost instinctively. She could understand what it was like to feel part of something bigger, what it was like to be part of a project that seemed to have roots much older than her. Something that, until then, she had only been able to share with Magnus.

"My grandfather wanted to make people aware of the importance of the Cherokee story. Most descendants of natives today have no idea where their origins come from. He wanted to spread our culture again, in a way that people could understand instead of just accepting it" Piper said, and Annabeth could tell that the excitement in her voice was genuine "my father tried to do that too, but ..." she pursed her lips as if she had thought twice about ehat she was saying " it did not work very well. My mother is european, and she doesn't understand much about it, but she said that if I gets the internship, she will support me anyway".

Annabeth was speechless for a moment. Until then, she had been almost mesmerized by the beauty of the other girl, but after listening to her, she felt a little bad about reducing Piper to just a pretty face.

"My grandfather wanted my mother to be a doctor," Annabeth found herself saying before she could think better "but she ... well, she was never one to obey much. I think it's in the family. Then a cousin of mine became a doctor, and grandfather decided that I needed to be too" the memory almost made her roll her eyes "don't get me wrong, I always wanted to be an architect, but ... I have to say that seeing the offended face of my grandfather Zeus was the little push I needed to decide".

Piper smiled a smile that was by no means kind. It looked like the type of smile that someone gave before doing something very insane, or very wrong.

"Did you manage to be hired by the best architecture firm in the country just to irritate your grandfather?" Piper repeated, with a strange sparkle in her eyes, and Annabeth saw them change from brown to hazel, and little red. "Why didn't we meet before, huh?".

Annabeth's words tangled in her throat, but she would never let anyone get her without an answer on the tip of her tongue:

"I don't know," she said. "I think we both wasted a lot of time, don't you?".

Piper raised her eyebrows, and a streak of brown hair fell on her forehead, partially covering one of her eyes. Annabeth's heart was hammering in her chest, but she forced herself to keep her eyes steady.

"I think the waiting makes some things more interesting," Piper replied.

It was almost too much. Annabeth could feel her face turning red. How should she be able to handle Piper, so close, smiling with the corner of her lips lifted and her gaze fixed on her eyes, her hair covering just the right amount of face ...

But again, she prepared to answer ... -

"MS. Chase, the editor is waiting".

Annabeth almost kicked the secretary in the shin.

Piper's provocative smile was replaced by a sweet and gentle one, aimed at the secretary. As soon as she turned away and Annabeth stood up, however, Piper fixed her with that same look and waved a hand:

"See you later, Annabeth".


	2. two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone who left kudos :)  
> This chapter is really just Annabeth and Piper having a bunch of rich kid problems and flirting. Hope you like it!

She managed to stay focused during the meeting, at least.

But as soon as she left the office - and scanned the waiting room to make sure that Piper wasn't there - Annabeth let her mind drift.

She didn't want to think about it and raise her hopes, but ... Piper had been ...

Piper had been flirting with her, right?

_ Right _ ?

Heavens, because Annabeth had certainly thought she was.

Magnus honked his horn, and she got in the car. Obviously, she couldn't hide anything from the boy, because the first thing he said when she finished buckling her belt was:

"Who's your new crush?".

"I have no crushes on  _ anybody, ever _ ," Annabeth growled, throwing her backpack into the back seat of the car.

"Of course not" Magnus laughed, in a way that made her completely angry "we're just gonna forget about Luke, Thalia, Connor, Charles ...".

"Magnus -".

"... about Carter, about..." he glanced at her, and saw her shooting him a gaze "what, am I forgetting someone? Oh, right. Silena?".

"Magnus!".

"And the most recent, of course ..." he smirked "the official crush of half the student body and the gay awakening of eighty percent of my friends ... Reyna?".

"I don't know why I still tell you stuff".

"Because" he made a curve in their street, "I tell you my stuff too. And let's not forget that you made my life a living hell for all the weeks I was postponing talking to Alex".

"Because  _ everyone  _ knew you were in love with each other. It was almost torturing to watch you babble in front of her like an idiot". 

It was Magnus' turn to blush.

"You're changing the subject," he decreed. "I asked you a question".

"It's not a crush," she said when they finally parked "I just met a girl. She is pretty. Studies at our college.  _ Just  _ that".

"Sure" Magnus hummed, completely ignoring her. "And I will pretend to believe your lies".

Annabeth got out of the car.

"Go to hell, Magnus".

The boy laughed, following her into the apartment.

After a shower and watching Magnus horribly destroy the ham sandwiches, Annabeth braced herself for the mental stress that would be the next few hours. Jason appeared a few minutes later, returning from his internship, and took her to the makeup studio.

"At this time, parents are picking up children at school, the traffic is a mess" Jason explained why he had decided to just stick around, as he followed her into the hall.

And what was her surprise when she found the boy in the horrible brown shorts sitting on the couch.

"Percy?".

"Annabeth!" he got up. "It  _ is  _ Annabeth, right?".

"Yes. This is my friend, Jason. Jason, this is Percy, we met earlier today".

He and Jason shook hands. But she noticed the look Jason had given the other boy and immediately felt like slapping him. Jason had a bad habit of scaring away the boys who were interested in her, and it wasn't even on purpose: he was just a six-foot-five guy with steel muscles and a fierce look, who was always attached to her side. When people did not naturally conclude that they were dating, the second hypothesis was always that Jason would end anyone that dared to approach her.

Which, of course, didn't make Annabeth's love life very busy.

_ Please _ , she thought,  _ don't Piper doesn't see me with him anytime soon. _

And immediately she felt like slapping herself. Why was she thinking about Piper at that moment?

Percy, however, had not looked impressed. It was only then that she noticed that the boy was wearing a thin black apron and a pair of gloves was tucked into his pocket.

"You work here?"

"Part-time," he said "when I'm not crying about the final exams or scaping to a pool. And I suppose you are  _ Miss  _ Annabeth Chase?".

"It would be me, yes".

"Well," Percy smiled "I'm responsible for your hair today".

Annabeth looked at him. Percy looked more like the kind of boy who ruffled people's hair than fixed them, but she had heard enough  _ dumb blondes  _ jokes to know better than to judge someone by their appearance, so she returned a smile and walked over to the chair.

"Can I offer you anything? Percy asked.

"I'm fine, thanks".

"Jason?".

Jason asked for water. Percy seemed happy to go and get it. As soon as the boy was out of sight, Annabeth turned in her chair and accused:

"Do not pull that with me".

"Pull what?". 

"You always get all over of my makeup artists, hairdressers, library attendants, "she said, "I can't go anywhere without people looking at me crooked because I'm your friend".

"I don't get all over anybody," Jason hissed, however, softly. Then, he smiled mockingly "everybody else always gets all over me, though".

" _ Grace _ ".

"Chase".

"Jackson," Percy returned with the glass of water. "And yes, I could hear you guys. Don't worry Annabeth, Jason is not my type".

Jason's mouth opened an almost perfect "O" shape, and he looked genuinely offended, and Annabeth turned back to the mirror with an outrageous laugh.

"I didn't think I would say that, but ...  _ damn".  _

Percy, propped up on the counter, smiled with satisfaction. He hadn't done it himself: shortly afterward, several other employees had arrived for their shift and contributed to Annabeth's hairstyle and makeup, because Athena obviously had to overdo everything. 

And perhaps for that very reason, Annabeth had made a point of accepting Percy's suggestions above those of the bosses, which seemed to bother them, but the boy's smug smile was worth it.

"I told you" he swiveled his chair.

"MS. Chase" one of the other makeup artists called "your mother has already paid for everything, so you can go if you want".

She took one last look in the mirror, because  _ everyone  _ knows that salon mirrors make people feel more beautiful than ordinary mirrors, and smiled contentedly. Maybe social events weren't at the top of her list of priorities, but she was beautiful, which was a good boost in her ego ... - uh, in her  _ self-esteem. _

"Hey, are you going already?" Percy asked, putting an apron on the backpack "Is your friend coming to pick you up?".

Annabeth noticed the tone in Percy's voice when he said  _ your friend _ and concluded that, in fact, Jason was not in Percy Jackson's field of attraction, which was almost a relief.

"Why?".

"My friend is coming to pick me up for a party later," Percy replied. "We're going to pick up another dude at the other side of town so, if your house is on the way, I could drop you off". 

Annabeth would prefer it if Jason came and picked her up, but she saw no harm in saving him some gas. She told Percy the address, who then texted his friend, and everything was fixed. They waited outside for a few minutes until ...

A brand new car parked on the sidewalk.

The dark glass lowered until it revealed a face.

"Hey, asshole, have you ... ah. Hi, Annabeth".

"Hi, Piper".

Wow, how uncomfortable.

They stared at each other for a few moments, until Percy took the lead:

"I'll go in the back seat," he said, already opening the door to enter - we will pick Nico up after dropping you off, and he likes riding shotgun".

Annabeth didn't have much room to protest after that.

Things could have been even more uncomfortable, because she honestly couldn't stop looking at Piper. She had changed clothes again: denim shorts and a loose T-shirt, and she seemed to have been sleeping until then, because the back of her hair was rumpled.

"How was your interview?".

"It went well".

"Stop being fake," Percy commented from the backseat, "until five minutes ago you were all happy because you were sure you got it."

He rolled his eyes and leaned over to turn on the radio.

And when Percy put on a song Annabeth knew and scolded her t not scrunch her hair, Annabeth thanked him for saving the day - or rather, the late afternoon.

When they reached her house, Percy waved excitedly until she got to the doorstep, all accompanied by Piper's smile, the look still as intense, and the promise of a "see you later".

She went up the stairs with weak legs.

And found Magnus trying to hang Jason.

"I'm just trying to tie the knot!" the boy defended himself, although, by the expression on Jason's face, anyone could make hasty decisions "But, gods, this is complicated". i

"Get out there." She pushed her cousin with her shoulder. "It's _ fine sport _ , you stupid. You're not supposed to wear ties".

"Um," Magnus murmured, "I knew that.

"Of course you did".

After getting rid of Jason's tie, she watched him. OK, Jason looked really handsome in a suit. The cream-colored pants accentuated the long, thick legs, and the light blue jacket matched his eyes. The black dress shirt prevented the clothes from becoming too light.

"The fact that you're so pretty makes me want to punch my own face".

Jason smiled. "It is a gift".

Magnus looked just as handsome, but because they were so similar, Annabeth felt that every time she praised her cousin, she was being kind of narcissistic, because to praise Magnus was almost to praise herself. But anyone could see how well the boy looked, with his white dress shirt, gray blazer, and dark pants. The hair, placed only partially in a ponytail, made the wavy blond strands frame his face.

With no other reasons to procrastinate, Annabeth and the two boys headed for the car. She thought it was only fair for her to drive that time since they had spent the day hitchhiking up and down with her.

The agreed-on place was a large event hall that looked very much like a residence, only much bigger, painted white, and with gravels decorating the entrance. The columns supporting the balcony on the second floor were white, in the Greek style, and Annabeth had to assume to herself that, after all, her mother did indeed have good taste.

When the car approached the entrance to the parking lot, a valet quickly came to them, and Annabeth handed him the keys, leaving the vehicle with the two escorts. Jason adjusted his glasses on his face, looking a little out of place with all that luxury, while Magnus absently kicked the cobbles.

"Ready?" she asked, but she thought she already knew the answer.

Magnus shrugged.

Too late to give up now. She put an arm around Magnus's, as they had been used to doing since they were kids when they went to these events, and they walked together to the entrance, where a small group of lavishly dressed people was talking cordially to each other before the event started. The security guard put his stupid sunglasses down for him, and Jason pulled the folded invitation out of the inside his pocket, along with his ID.

After being properly guided inside, following a corridor with stained glass windows and chandelier hanging from the ceiling, a waiter offered them bubbly champagne in thin glasses as soon as they reached the entrance to the hall.

She scanned her eyes: there was a huge screen reflecting the image of a projector, and a small stage. Annabeth already knew the routine: the CEOS would take a moment to show their most successful projects in recent years, present some new ones, and then make all the usual  _ blah blah blah _ . Venus would choose some of its most promising models, sr. Dare would bring the best people from his marketing team, and Athena ...

Athena would use her best people to impress.

A lump formed in Annabeth's throat.

Soon,  _ she  _ would be on that stage.

The table was long and seemed too full, in Annabeth's opinion, but she knew she could never say that out loud. But that was the main one - around there were about five others, reserved for smaller investors.

"Okay, so we ..." Magnus started to say something, but Annabeth's attention was stolen by dark hair standing not far from them.

"Percy?".

The boy immediately turned, and Annabeth could hardly believe it was him. His hair was meticulously combed back, very different from before, and he wore an all-black outfit, except for the navy blue dress shirt. His green eyes lit up under his thick eyebrows when he saw her. He spun on his heels, revealing who the figure was with an arm wrapped around his ...

"MS. Dare?".

"Chase!" Rachel smiled, her lips tinged with red lipstick. She was stunning in the green dress, decorated with a fine gold necklace and bracelets adorning her wrists. The bright red hair had been partly tied at the top of the head, leaving the rest of the curls to fall freely on her bare shoulders. "I was wondering when you were going to arrive. Hi Magnus, and hi ..."

"Jason" he offered a hand "Jason Grace".

"Jason Grace," she added, "is this the first time we've met?"

"Yeah" Annabeth explained "Luke moved out last summer, so I needed a new date'.

"A new guinea pig, then," Percy joked, "Blondie got lucky, finally free from these things". 

So Annabeth  _ did know _ Percy. He was the boy that Rachel always took to these events. She knew she recognized his face from somewhere!

Something turned in her stomach. She thought for a moment about how she had hinted that Percy might have a crush on Jason. If he were the boyfriend of the heiress to one of your her mother's main business partners ... -

No. Annabeth was good at body language, and there was nothing but platonic in the way they were nestled together. They just looked comfortable.

"Where's your other date?" Magnus asked, looking around.

"Ah, Reyna sent a message saying she had arrived, so he went to wait for her outside," Rachel said "they must be ... oops". 

She finished the sentence by clicking her tongue and smiled even more. Annabeth had a terrible feeling.

"Sorry for the delay" a voice that Annabeth recognized more or less sounded behind her "it's very crowded outside".

She turned towards the voice. Nico di Angelo was standing with one hand tucked into the pocket of his black pants, leaving the huge silver watch in plain sight, and standing beside him wasReyna, in a beautiful purple and silver dress, and the blonde boy she had seen this morning talking to ...

Piper.

Annabeth came to the conclusion that the universe  _ was  _ taking the day off to mess with her, after all. 

Piper was standing next to the blond boy, in a knee-length black skirt, white belt and white blouse partially hidden by her blazer - Annabeth thought it was the same one she had worn in the interview. Something about the outfit didn't seem to make sense, as if Piper had purposely decided to wear a dress ... unsuitable for such a magnanimous event.

But honestly, Annabeth could barely think of Piper’s outfit. Not when she was looking at her with a hand on her waist and a raised eyebrow, the same winning smile on her lips.

"The party you had to go to later" she felt like a fish out of water "is this one".

"Well," Percy added, looking oblivious to Annabeth's condition, "we're here, right?"

"But ...".

"Piper McLean" the girl offered as if feeling a little bad for Annabeth's surprise "my mother is the crazy lady who will probably have a fit when she sees my clothes". 

"Aphrodite" Annabeth felt the need to clarify, and Piper nodded.

"And you," Piper said, "are not  _ just an intern working on new and important projects. _ "

Ah, wow. Now Annabeth felt a little stupid.

Piper had probably known who she was from the first conversation in the waiting room, and yet she had let Annabeth go on pretending that she was just another intern - probably to not embarrass her.

Gods, who  _ were  _ this girl?

"Athena Chase is my mother," she nodded, "the lady who is likely to freak out when she notices that I haven't sat with her at the table yet."

When the silence between them became a little uncomfortable, and no one (except Rachel) seemed to be having a great time, Percy cleared his throat loudly.

"Percy Jackson, my mom is Sally and she makes some amazing cookies".

Piper actually laughed, her eyes sparkling, and Annabeth felt a warm sensation in the center of her chest. When she looked sideways at Jason, she saw that the boy's eyes were focused on Percy.

_ Hm _ , she thought. Perhaps a change in the atmosphere would not be so bad.  _ Let's see how Jason does on the other side of the coin. _

She introduced Jason to Piper, who greeted each other warmly, and then continued:

"Magnus, my cousin. He is...".

"Heir to the Frey medical clinic chain" the blonde boy Annabeth did not know interrupted, and only then seemed to realize what he had done. "Sorry. I'm just ... I'm a huge fan".

"A fan?" Magnus raised an eyebrow.

"You have an incredible service system for people in need. I would like to work there, one day'.

"Will likes the  _ sentimental side _ of medicine," Nico explained.

"You love my sentimental side," Will accused, and Nico didn't object.

Magnus's expression softened. Annabeth knew the whole story behind this troubled heritage, and that taking over as leader had never been on her cousin's plans, but apparently Will's comment had made him rethink it if only a little but. 

Perhaps Magnus and the boy could be great friends.

Annabeth did not know exactly how it happened.

At one point, she had been sitting with the other heirs at the table, eating a duck sautéed in white sauce and drinking champagne that cost more than college tuition, and the next, Piper had leaned over and whispered:

"Do you want to get out of here?".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so much longer than I thought. I'll try to update soon.

**Author's Note:**

> During the girl's conversation, I tried to get the american college system as correct as possible, but I apologize for any mistakes.   
> Until next chapter.


End file.
